"Look at you, you've gotten even more handsome. Little Alex must spend everyday in bliss." Kawa teased Dyon and her daughter endlessly, wrapping her little body in a tight bundle King Acacia held on to.
Seeing his mother-in-law stuck in a pitiful beast form, Dyon felt a slight ache in his heart. Of his in-laws, since G-man was dead, Kawa was the only one who treated him like her own son. Even his relationship with King Acacia was still a bit stiff. As for Madeleine's foster parents, there was no need to even mention them, Madeleine hadn't spoken to them in years. And, Madeleine's real parents had disappeared once again.
Still, Kawa looked happy. She was an adorable little fox only about three of four palm lengths long. But, her beautiful tails were gone, ripped away by Loki.
Dyon had promised to find a cure for her one day, but he simply couldn't afford the ingredients.
King Acacia could sense the turmoil in Dyon's heart. Although Dyon had The Seal, the expressions flickering within his eyes were clear. It made him happy to know that his son-in-law was so invested in saving his wife, but it also made him feel useless.
He had left his little girl to go and save his wife long ago, only to basically lose her once again. The cultivation devil of sorts looming over him had even slowed his cultivation down.
'Maybe it's a mistake to do nothing but take care of Kawa…' King Acacia thought to himself. Still, he couldn't bring himself to leave the wife that gave up so much for him alone.
Kawa left behind everything she had ever known to become the queen of this small, broken kingdom. King Acacia simply couldn't break that bond.
The day between the family drew onward as Ri animatedly told her parents stories about her experiences since she last saw them. Kawa could only giggle as Ri emphasized for the millionth time how great Dyon's feats were.
Hearing such praise, Dyon couldn't help but blush.
"Father, my constitution suddenly awakened to a new level," Ri glossed over the fact it was due to dual cultivation to save herself the embarrassment of explaining such things to her parents, "Is there something you aren't telling me about Elvin Queen's Reign? I suddenly feel as though my every action is being watched."
King Acacia blinked before shaking his head. "If I had known something about it, I wouldn't have allowed you to stumble around blindly. Your best bet to learn more are the ancestors. In fact, there's a new batch of the younger generation preparing for their awakening ceremonies, I can take you with them."
"Did you learn anything in the past few days?" Dyon asked Ri.
"Well…" Ri stretched out her delicate palm, causing beautiful lights of various colors to dance across her hand.
After a few moments, the lights began to coalesce, forming the small body of a fairy even more beautiful and perfect than the spirit of Dyon's Queen Fairy Pill.
It had a pair of translucent gold butterfly wings on its back, its body was covered in a simple gown that was almost completely see-through, while its features were the absolute pinnacle of perfection. If it wasn't for the fact its body was only 6 or so inches tall, she would definitely be a city-toppling beauty.
"Ri! Ri!" The fairy giggled happily, leaping up and down in Ri's hand.
"A constitution that can manifest helpers?" Dyon mumbled to himself.
The fairy pouted hearing Dyon's words. "I'm not a helper, I'm a fairy princess!"
Dyon smiled at the little fairy's adorable reaction. "This humble servant greets the fairy princess."
The fairy princess put her hands on her hips and nodded. "Good. Good. Serve me well!"
At this point, even King Acacia couldn't help but smile slightly.
"The fairy princess must have some amazing powers, right?" Dyon spoke as though he was speaking to a toddler, but the fairy princess didn't seem to notice. She found his face pleasing and the way he treated her even better. "Do you mind telling this humble servant about your astonishing feats?"
The fairy princess looked toward Ri as though she was asking for permission. It seemed that this princess took Ri's authority very seriously and only continued after receiving a nod.
Puffing her chest out, the fairy princess explained. "I'm an amazing caster of spells. I can heal any injury and alleviate any fatigue. With my sisters, I'm invincible!"
Dyon raised an eyebrow. "Sisters?"
"Of course! There are other fairy princesses. I am the youngest and most doted upon, Isla!"
Seeing Dyon look toward her, Ri shook her head. "I can't seem to summon any of them yet."
Just as Dyon was about to say he understood, he suddenly froze, standing up abruptly. His expression turned grim as he looked off into the distance.
"Dyon, what happened?"
Dyon grit his teeth. "We need to evacuate. Now."
No matter how naïve Dyon seemed on the surface for trusting the Mino and allowing the Daiyu to leave, he would never do anything that might put those he loved in danger. So, when he gave the Mino an option to join him or not, he had attached a simple relay array to King Mino.
If King Mino decided not to join him, it was fine. But, if King Mino had any intention of subterfuge, he'd be prepared for the potential backstab.
At that moment, the relay array that Dyon secretly placed within King Mino's body suddenly picked up eight powerful auras. The problem was that five of them were high celestials, two were peak celestials, and one was a dao formation expert… Even if it was just one of them, Dyon had no chance of winning…
'There's no time!' Dyon roared in his mind.
Dyon abruptly sat down cross-legged, his divine sense immediately reaching out and covered the 10 000 square kilometers that made up Elvin Kingdom.
In an instant, his voice reached out to thousands of elves. "Don't resist. This is a matter of life and death. Trust me!"
Thousands of elves looked up into the sky. They all recognized the voice. More than 20 years ago, it was this same voice that saved them from the utter destruction at the hands of the Daiyu. It was this voice that exposed the plot of the Eostre. It was this very voice that was owned by the husband of their princess and the brother of their future monarch.
It didn't take much for them to believe in his words and wait for the next moment in silence.
King Acacia was shocked when he saw Dyon's divine sense stretch out so far. The island of their Kingdom was at least a 50km in every direction from this central castle. A celestial had no business having such a large range. At most, a great talent would have a radius a fifth of that. What he didn't know was that Dyon's radius covered 2000x that.
Dyon clasped his hands together in deep concentration. Focusing his everything as brilliant arrays began to appear before every citizen. Usually, the scarce population of the elves was a detriment, but today, it was a saving grace.
As Dyon concentrated, the kitsune were already on the move. A bloodied and half dead King Mino lay with his daughter crying atop of him. His arms were sheered into minced meat, his eyes were dull and lacked color, there was even a massive hole out of the left side of his chest, leaving a vacant space where his heart once was.
Dyon grit his teeth in rage. He hadn't expected King Mino, a man he had only known for a few hours, to go so far to protect a secret.
He made use of the runes behind him to protect Aoife, but it seemed he wasn't proficient enough with the treasure to protect himself as well. In the end, it was Aoife who shouted out the information they wanted, unable to watch her father be tortured for any longer.
'Kitsune Clan…' Dyon's rage caused his Mind's Eye to tremble, increasing the output of his soul energy even further.
They were running out of time. By the moment the kitsune found the teleportation station to Earth and activated the formation, Dyon was only half finished.
Ri, Kawa and King Acacia still didn't understand what was going on. But, judging by the seriousness of Dyon's expression and the sweat beading down his forehead, this matter was not simple at all.
Dyon was a man who had casually strolled into a war that had been raging for years and ended it within a few minutes. Yet, that same man was clearly panicking.
"King Acacia, I need you to go to the Elvin Tombs now. Only you can guide them. Take Ri with you." Dyon split his mind once more to give instructions to his father-in-law even as his mental energy drained by the second.
